Hosting Visitors at Home in Kigali: Trays, Food Warmers and Tea Sets

When abashyitsi tell you they are coming, the question is never only what to cook. It is also: do I have enough cups for everyone, will the food stay hot until we eat, and what do I carry the tea on? This guide is for anyone in Kigali getting ready to receive visitors at home, whether it is family coming after church, friends visiting a new baby, or a gathering before a wedding.

Start with the numbers

Before you buy anything, count. Write down how many people you expect at the busiest moment, then add two or three for the people who always come with someone else. That number decides almost everything below.

• Cups: one per guest, plus a few extra. Cups get set down and forgotten, and someone will always ask for a second icyayi.
• Plates: one dinner plate per person who will eat, and a few small plates or bowls for snacks and fruit.
• Glasses: one per guest for water, juice or soda.
• Serving dishes: one for each dish on the table: rice, ubugali, beans, isombe, meat, salad.

Cup and saucer sets often come in 12 pieces, which means 6 cups and 6 saucers. If you expect 15 people, plan for more than one set.

Keeping tea hot for everyone

In most Rwandan homes, visitors are welcomed with icyayi first. The challenge is that guests do not all arrive at the same time, and tea made at 15:00 is cold by 16:00 if it sits in the isafuriya.

Use a flask (thermos)

Make the tea once, pour it into a vacuum flask, and serve from the flask all afternoon. You do not need to go back to the kitchen every time someone arrives. To estimate size, a normal cup holds about 200 ml, so a 2 L flask serves roughly 10 cups and a 3.5 L flask roughly 17. For a large group, two flasks, one for tea with milk and one for black tea or hot water, work better than one very big one.

Tip: pour hot water into the flask for a few minutes before you fill it with tea. A warm flask keeps tea hotter for longer.

Cups and saucers

Glass cups and saucers look clean on the table and you can see how much tea is left. Ceramic cups hold heat a little longer in the hand. Whichever you choose, matching cups make even a simple gathering look prepared.

Browse: Tea & Coffee · Bottles & Flasks

Keeping food warm until people eat

Food cooked in amasafuriya at midday rarely waits well until guests sit down in the evening. Reheating everything at the last minute keeps the host in the kitchen while the visitors are in the salon.

Food warmers

An insulated food warmer is a covered dish with an inner bowl and an insulated outer shell. You cook, put the food in, close the lid, and it stays warm without fire or electricity. They usually come in sets of three in different sizes. A practical way to use a set:

• Largest: rice or ubugali. Turn the ubugali out with the umwuko straight into the warmer and close it quickly so the outside does not dry.
• Middle: beans, isombe or a stew.
• Smallest: meat, fish or a sauce.

They also go straight onto the table, so you do not need separate serving bowls for those dishes.

Browse: Food Warmers & Hot Pots

Trays: the most used thing when you host

A good tray saves dozens of trips between the kitchen and the salon. You will use it to carry tea and cups, pass around mandazi, sambusa or fruit, and clear the table afterwards.

• One large tray for carrying a full set of cups and the flask in one trip. Handles help when the tray is heavy.
• Two or three smaller trays to place on the coffee table with snacks, sugar and milk, so guests serve themselves.
• A fruit basket or bowl that can stay on the table for the whole visit. A small agasekuru also works well for groundnuts or sweets.

Browse: Serveware & Platters

Plates, glasses and drinks

If you are serving a meal, a complete dinner set means plates, bowls and side plates all match, which matters when the whole family sits together. For drinks, have one glass per guest and a jug so you are not opening a new bottle at every refill.

Browse: Dinner Sets · Plates · Water & Juice Glasses · Jugs & Carafes

Finishing touches

A tablecloth or a set of placemats protects your table from hot dishes and spilled tea, and makes a simple meal feel like an occasion. Keep a few napkins near the snacks too.

Browse: Table Linen

A quick checklist before visitors arrive

• Count cups, glasses and plates against your guest number.
• Warm the flask, then fill it with tea.
• Put cooked food into food warmers and close the lids.
• Set out trays with snacks, sugar and fruit.
• Fill a jug with water and set out glasses.
• Lay the tablecloth or placemats.

Questions people ask us

Visitors are coming tonight. Can you deliver today?

Yes, if you order before 12:00. Orders placed before 12:00 are delivered the same day, to every sector of Kigali. Delivery is free on orders above RWF 50,000. You can also order and pick up at our shop in UTC, Door 1.1, KN 4 Ave, Kigali City Centre.

Are you open on Sunday?

No. We are open Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 20:00, and closed on Sunday. If your visitors are coming on Sunday, order or come to the shop by Saturday.

How can I pay?

MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, eKash or cash on delivery. In the shop we also accept cards.

What if I bought too many cups or the wrong size of food warmer?

You can return items within 7 days, and refunds are made the same day. See our return policy for details.

Can someone help me choose what I need for my number of guests?

Call or WhatsApp us on 0790 005 254. Tell us how many people you expect and what you plan to serve, and we can help you put the list together.